Hawk Talk

NEW ATHLETIC PROGRAMS LAUNCH

by Jen Wingerter ’13

SPRINT FOOTBALL & SWIMMING

Quincy University announced the addition of sprint football in June 2021 and the addition of women's and men's swimming in August 2021, to QU's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs.

Conner McLaughlin ’15 was named the head sprint football coach in August and Bryan Christiansen was named head women’s and men’s swimming coach. While distinctly different programs, both have something in common, a head coach eager to start a program from scratch where student success and experience are at the center of everything they do.

Conner McLaughlin ’15

Head Sprint Football Coach

MEET CONNER MCLAUGHLIN, ’15, M.ED., HEAD SPRINT FOOTBALL COACH

Growing up, Conner McLaughlin wanted a career that impacted others, particularly young people. Originally a clinical psychology major, he pivoted after spending time in the classroom during an educational psychology class.

Something clicked for me as I observed that class. I thought about who had impacted me growing up - it was my coaches and teachers. —Conner McLaughlin, '15

He changed his major to education, transferred to QU, and began coaching at Quincy Notre Dame High School. Within that first year of coaching, he knew it was what he was meant to do. After graduation, he became the defensive coordinator at Highland High School in Lewistown Mo, and the following year Unity High School in Mendon, Ill., hired him as the head football coach.

McLaughlin had coached nine years of high school football when QU announced the addition of sprint football.

I always wanted to coach collegiately. I just thought it would be 10 to 15 years down the road. I never imagined this would happen. To stay in my hometown, coach at my alma mater, and be at the beginning of a program that I feel is so needed in our area, I am very grateful and humbled to have the opportunity.

QUICK FACTS:

Quincy University will join five other private colleges and universities in the Midwest and Upper South as charter members of a new, independent athletic conference, the Midwest Sprint Football League (MSFL). The charter members of the MSFL are Bellarmine University (Kentucky), Calumet College of St. Joseph (Indiana), Fontbonne University (Missouri), Midway University (Kentucky), Quincy University (Illinois), and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (Indiana). Competition begins in the fall of 2022.

• 87-years-old varsity sport played by United States colleges and universities

• Rules typical for American football

• Emphasizes quickness and agility more than size and strength

• Player weight limit - not to exceed 178 pounds

• Previously has only been available at east coast colleges and universities

• Governed by the Collegiate Sprint

Football League

McLaughlin is excited to look into the eyes of players who believe that their football career will end in high school and share with them an opportunity to continue their career collegiality.

I was one of those kids. I was not the typical height and weight of a collegiate player. I remember going through the recruitment process and playing collegiately. I would have benefitted from sprint football, to play in a style where I wasn’t always trying to catch up.

Sprint football rules are the same as standard football, with a weight limit. Bringing the sprint football program to QU allows a larger percentage of football players to continue their football careers at a collegiate level while earning a degree. “I’m excited to bring it here. I think it fits our community and the surrounding communities and offers opportunities to a different group of student-athletes,” said McLaughlin. “In the sports world, there is always a standard that teams chase. Sprint football is new in the Midwest. We have the opportunity to set the standard, to be the program other schools are chasing in a couple of years.” Part of that standard is the experience the players will have off the field.

“When they leave here, they aren’t taking football with them; they are taking their degree, friendships, connections, and experiences,” said McLaughlin. “That is the investment students make when they go to college, and we want to make sure we are giving that to the students in our program.”

Bryan Christiansen

MEET BRYAN CHRISTIANSEN, HEAD MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING COACH

Timing is everything, and for Bryan Christiansen, that rang true as he began looking for jobs to join his wife in Illinois. “My wife and I met in Ohio while she was finishing her law degree, and I was coaching at John Carroll University. Shortly after we began dating, I got the head coaching job at Frostburg State University in Maryland, and she got a job in Illinois working in the office of the state appellate defender.” They dated long-distance for two years until their wedding this past September. Christiansen interviewed at QU the following week.

Coaching at the college level is where my heart is. I'm amazed at how this all worked and am excited about starting a program from scratch. —Bryan Christiansen

Christiansen has coached swimming since 2008, starting at the club and high school level and moving to collegiate coaching in 2015 as an assistant coach at SUNY New Paltz. He coached there two years before taking an assistant coach position at John Carroll University. In 2018, Christiansen accepted the position of head swimming coach at Frostburg State University, where he guided the team through a transition from competing at the NCAA Division III level to the Division II level.

“I’ve coached at every level, but I keep coming back to college,” said Christiansen. “For me, it is the perfect mix of that serious swimmer and a strong team environment, which can get lost in competitive swimming.” Emphasizing team is the key to success, in his opinion. The combination of hard work and good team camaraderie is the foundation on which teams thrive, and a lot of team building happens outside of the pool. Christiansen likes to choose activities that showcase the student’s other abilities. These activities allow students to get to know one another as more than just an athlete and build trust and life-long relationships.

FALL 2022

I want their time here to be worthwhile, to see not only the teams progress but also great student experiences. I like trophies, and I do not enjoy losing, but it is important to take a step back and consider what we are doing this for - the human experience.

Personal experience also plays a part in his coaching. He looks at training and writing up a set or line-up from that point of view. He often reflects on his time as a student-athlete, what he liked or would have liked to be different and what he can do to help his team find success.

With his focus sharp on the top-performing GLVC conference, his goal for the QU swim program is to become a destination for student-athletes to find success in and out of the pool.

QUICK FACTS:

QU's swim team will practice and compete in the QU's Health and Fitness Center Pool, an outstanding facility with the potential to host meets in the future. The newest Hawk athletic program will compete in the winter months. Fans can expect around ten events per year, including the GLVC Championships that are usually held in February. QU will be the 12th institution to sponsor swimming in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, beginning in Fall 2022. QU will not sponsor diving competitions at this time.